Cooper Cameron Corporation

Richard C Barnett

William M Taylor

Johnnie E Kotrla

John D Wactor

A riser connector is provided for connecting a riser to a wellhead assembly having a bore therethrough. The connector includes a housing having a first and a second end. The first end of the housing has an opening and is adapted for mounting to the wellhead assembly with the opening in communication with the bore of the wellhead assembly. The second end has a first opening connectable to the riser having a diameter at least the same as the inner diameter of the riser, and a second opening, having a diameter at least substantially the same as the diameter of the bore of the wellhead assembly. The housing further includes a first conduit connecting the opening in the first end of the housing to the first opening in the second end of the housing, and a second conduit connecting the opening in the first end of the housing to the second opening in the second end of the housing. In use, first well operations are conducted through the riser in the conventional manner. Second well operations are conducted using open water techniques and access the wellhead assembly and the well through the second conduit in the connector without the need to disconnect the riser from the connector. The riser connector is of particular use with risers having an inner diameter less than the diameter of the bore of the wellhead assembly, the second well operations being conducted using equipment which is too large to pass through the small bore riser.

Riser connector for a wellhead assembly and method for conducting offshore well operations using the same

An emergency recovery system designed for use in a subsea environment is disclosed. The emergency recovery system has a casing that is open at each end with a shackle connected to one end of the casing with the opposite end of the shackle designed for connection to appropriate points on the main stack and lower marine riser package in any orientation. A flexible sling with a closed loop formed at each end is used with one of the closed loops releasably connected to the shackle and the end of the casing. The other end of the sling has a flotation member attached to the sling adjacent the closed loop. The sling is fan folded as it is lowered into the casing. The flotation member is shaped to fit inside the other end of the casing with the closed end loop of the sling protruding from the casing. A split retaining ring is placed around the sling between the flotation member and the closed loop and inserted in the open end of the casing. A release ring is inserted through the wall of the casing into the split retaining ring. The flotation member is constructed of syntactic foam and sized to provide sufficient buoyancy to fully extend the sling when the release ring is released by a remotely operated vehicle in a subsea environment.

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Cypress, TX, United States of America

Richard C Barnett